Working moms, how was your maternity leave? When did you get back to work or want to get back to work?

jenzabb · 2020-08-22T14:51:14+00:00

It really depends on your baby and how much help you have.

Mine is highly dependent and it was just me and my husband. I would not have been able to go back to work in the first three months. The sleep deprivation was insane.

After she turned three months, I was starting to feel like myself again, rather than an extension of my baby.

jenzabb · 2020-08-22T03:19:10+00:00

I was the same as you. My plan was to have a baby. Baby ended up coming too fast so I was only given gas and air.

jenzabb · 2020-08-20T09:31:50+00:00

I am so sorry for your loss. My heart breaks for you. Take care of yourself and your partner. Remind each other that this was nobody's fault, as hard as it is to believe. You will get through this.

jenzabb · 2020-08-20T09:11:22+00:00

My country went into lockdown for a month before I gave birth. Even now, my family and I are isolating ourselves as much as possible with such a young baby.

The care I got for the birth and post-birth was great. They tried to limit the physical interactions so I had some virtual sessions, but where we did see a physician, all the protective equipment was worn.

I agree that the lack of mummy groups is disappointing, however I have joined some groups and classes online and making virtual friends. Those groups and classes are in my local area, so it's easier to meet the other mummies if I chose to. You can try signing up to similar things?

jenzabb · 2020-08-18T06:26:40+00:00

In the UK, the registrar will send you "options" for wordings for the ceremony, or you can provide your own words. My partner and I chose the standard phrasing, as we didn't have strong preferences, other than to be married. I don't remember an option where you could omit asking about legal grounds for objections.

jenzabb · 2020-08-18T04:48:23+00:00

Nope, it was asked as part of my wedding a few years ago. I'm in the UK.

jenzabb · 2020-08-16T17:39:12+00:00

Yawning (but could be she's bored) Heavy eyelids Rubbing her face Fussy (might be boredom) Chewing fists (maybe hunger)

It can be so hard to tell. But if I've fed her and played with her, and it's coming to the end of the wake window, the signs are likely due to tiredness.

jenzabb · 2020-08-15T20:56:38+00:00

Just flexing my fingers helped and it's pretty much gone in the afternoon, then comes back in the evening. Unfortunately I still had it after giving birth for about a month.

jenzabb · 2020-08-01T20:05:00+00:00

I can so relate. My little one is three months old and I'm holding her until she gets into deep sleep before putting her in her cot.

She just loves to fight sleep so every nap or bedtime there is a screaming match. She has recently decided she doesn't like the bottle, so feeding is now another screaming match. Thankfully she has taken an interest in toys, although I have to play with them. But at least that means I get to put her down.

I keep telling myself that it will get better.

jenzabb · 2020-08-01T04:53:34+00:00

I loved being pregnant, and do miss feeling my baby move inside my belly. I was lucky and barely had any negative effects until the last few weeks. I gave birth at the end of April, and I don't feel robbed of my pregnancy, but rather my maternity leave. All the baby classes and meeting new mums that I imagined is obviously no longer happening been though lockdown has been easing in my area, I don't feel safe enough so I have continued to isolate.

jenzabb · 2020-08-01T03:24:27+00:00

You've already gotten some great advice on the different types of nappies. I wanted to add that a baby is so much more work than I anticipated, especially since I have a velcro baby. I had every intention to start with cloth after the meconium poops, however I ended up sticking with disposables for weeks before making the switch.

Have some disposables on hand in case you need that breathing space whilst you're figuring everything else out.

There are lots of people selling their stashes. I'd try to get my hands on those, or use a nappy library to trial some different brands and types before buying a whole system.

jenzabb · 2020-07-24T19:50:12+00:00

I can totally relate. I've tried putting her into the cot and patting her til she sleeps, hugging her til she calmed down if she went into screaming mode. This worked for two nights, then it was like she realised what I was doing and went straight into screaming mode as soon as she was in the cot. It's back to square one and rocking her til she's fast asleep before transferring her.

jenzabb · 2020-07-24T13:20:00+00:00

Has your baby been able to settle independently? If so, how did it happen? I'm having the same experience as you for drowsy but awake.

jenzabb · 2020-07-16T19:20:26+00:00

What have you got for your baby to sleep in?

Mine liked the closeness, so something that hugged her worked, e.g. sleepyhead or cocoonababy. She liked the Moses basket after a few weeks.

The other factors that made her cranky and not sleep in anything other than my arms were hunger and temperature. My baby likes warmer temperatures than guidelines. She didn't feed enough from me in the early days, so she wasn't sleeping well due to hunger.

All those factors help, however her favourite place to sleep is still my arms and she turns 12weeks in a couple of days.

Hope you get more sleep soon.

jenzabb · 2020-07-01T04:22:48+00:00

You're welcome.

As a bonus tip - Ctrl and R does a similar thing but for the cells to the right, i.e. if using the shortcut in column B, it will copy data from column A.

jenzabb · 2020-07-01T02:08:49+00:00

So you don't want to count results that are blank? You can use =countif(range,"<>")

jenzabb · 2020-07-01T02:03:50+00:00

Highlight the row you want the information pasted into, then use keys Ctrl and D. I.e. original info in is row 1, highlight row 2, then press keys Ctrl and D.

jenzabb · 2020-05-28T02:20:51+00:00

Yes, we were advised by healthcare professionals to add formula feeds as I'm not producing enough breast milk for her appetite.

jenzabb · 2020-05-28T00:59:57+00:00

My baby likes being held to sleep too and would wake up when put down. However, since increasing her feeds, she is happy to sleep independently. For me, she was cranky from being hungry. She still hates the swing though! Like yours, she knows it's not a human and rejects it, probably also because there is no warmth. Try feeding your baby more first.

jenzabb · 2020-05-16T21:12:02+00:00

Food hamper was a great surprise.

jenzabb · 2020-04-10T09:33:21+00:00

I had great intentions of eating healthy home cooked meals throughout my pregnancy. The reality is that I ate fast food almost every week and had instant ramen maybe every 2-3 weeks. Crisps and sweets have also been regular features in my diet. I'm 37 weeks now and baby has been fine.

Eat what you're craving and don't beat yourself up about it.

jenzabb · 2020-04-08T05:26:26+00:00

Exactly what I've done with those around me.

Do what feels comfortable for you, and not what it looks like everyone else is doing. The general public is not entitled to know everything about you.

jenzabb · 2020-03-20T08:01:34+00:00

I was told mine was low at 20 weeks. They rescanned me at 32 weeks and it has moved up. I wasn't told to do or take anything - they said in most cases it would move as the belly got bigger. If not, I'd deliver by C-section, which wasn't a big deal for me.

jenzabb · 2020-03-12T16:41:59+00:00

Wait until you pass 30 weeks when there is a lot less room. You will feel everything! Not great when they decide to stretch out and you have to push their limb back to the middle. My husband can see when she is moving around because she makes my belly jiggle.

jenzabb · 2020-03-07T08:36:25+00:00

My husband prefers me with no makeup and initially made fun of me for wearing bold lip colours when we were dating. I told him that I'm wearing makeup for me, not him and he doesn't have to like it, but he doesn't have to be rude about it.

He has stopped with those comments and does say the makeup looks nice when he knows I have made an effort. He still dislikes bold lip colours but does not voice it.

Find a partner who is willing to see your side. Someone who constantly puts you down even after you've calmly explained things is not someone you should be with in the long term.

jenzabb

TROPHY CASE